An Authentic, Sometimes Gritty, and Always Hopeful Blog for All Who Live with Severe Physical Pain

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Suicide #2 - Your Thoughts

Suicide
obviously concerns a whole lot of you.More people visited my blog each day during the week after I put up my last
post “Suicide, Reconsidered” than they normally do for a full week! And not
only are Americans concerned about pain-related suicide,, but so are people
from all over the world:Russia, India,
Israel, Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, Qatar…people from more than 50
countries visited my blog last week.

Although
folks are reluctant to leave comments or to initiate conversations on the blog--and
I am unlearned on how to get you comfortable about doing so--maybe I’ll figure
that out someday--I did receive dozens of emails communications through the
blog as well as Facebook messages about the post.

About
half of them encouraged me personally in my own struggle; the rest either thanked
me for the post or shared their own
experiences.

I think you will find these worth
pondering:

“Sitting
here crying. This is so real, and my pain has been so much worse too, the past
month. Thank you. Thank you for posting with grace and mercy. I pray none of us
ever get so desperate to make that decision, but I do believe the arms of Jesus
will be there. Thank you, Judi, for being His voice.”

“Brave.
A subject no one wants to talk about I’ll bet that most of us who really suffer
have a ‘back up plan’ whether we really admit it or not.Reading your story makes me feel stronger
against it.”

“No false
piety in your post, but gutsy reality about suffering and fearing for your
family and future…like many of us do.
Trusting God sounds easy, but it is the hardest thing--we’ve seen those
pitiful souls in the nursing homes; we’ve heard of people living in constant
pain. Day by day is the only way to do
it.”

“I
have been there. For different reasons, but I have been there. Thanks for being
brave enough to write about
this. I find myself holding back tears because that is just about the loneliest
feeling there is. Christ showed up for me too. Changes you, doesn't it?”

“My
mother, who lived for years in pain from having been injured in a farming
accident, killed herself when I was a teenager. Our pastor told us that she had
committed an unforgiveable sin, and would not be able to go to heaven because
of it. We were not only heart-broken about this, but we also were treated like
outcasts in our church and even our town. I turned away from God for a long
time. It has taken many years for me to see God as loving, and only now am I coming
to understand how the salvation of Christ is over all our mistakes--even such a
big one as suicide. I know my mom was a
Christian and now I know I will see her in heaven!”

“My cousin sent me your story
because my husband who suffered from a rare form of bone disease committed
suicide seven months ago. He could no longer stand me having to care for him
for the rest of his life, and for the kids watching him get weaker and weaker.
He thought this was “best” for us, but it was awful! We loved him and we miss him!I loved taking care of him and so did our
children…He was a believer, so I am glad he is with Jesus, however, I am sad he
is not with us. I wish he could have trusted that Jesus would have worked
everything out for us.I hope you might
think about this if you ever consider suicide again.”

“We
who are in Christ need never fear whatever may come.

I depend upon the scripture in Romans 8 that
says:

"Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship

or persecution or famine or nakedness or
danger or sward?

No in all these things
we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor
life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any
powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,

will be
able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’"

--Romans 8: 36 - 38--

P.S. Confused or apathetic about this whole "Christian" thing? Maybe some of my posts will shed new light for you. Check out posts under the following labels: “My faith”, “salvation”, “Light of Jesus”